(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot

            The play Waiting for Godot written by the playwright Samuel Beckett dwells on the futility of human existence. Through the characters Vladimir and Estragon, Samuel Beckett addresses the fact that people find it difficult to get out of a predicament no matter how hard they try. This idea is best expressed by the line, "Nothing to be done" which is constantly repeated throughout the play (Act 1). But in spite this man continues to keep his hope alive as symbolized by the made up person named Godot.
             I believe that the play challenges my preconceived notion that life is still worth living in spite of the problems that I encounter every day. While it is true that every day is a struggle to improve our fortunes, it does not mean that things will always remain the same as thought of by Vladimir and Estragon. Though there are times that each one of us would like to give up and move on, there is something deep inside of us that tells us that one day, our fortunes will take for the better turn.
             The characters in the play reminded me of persons who also have given up on life and decided to go along with the flow. These are the poor people in our community who had always stayed the same because they have stopped believing that their present situation will improve. The play also reminded me about some of my classmates who gave up on their studies because they think that their grades will not improve no matter how hard they try. At the same there are those people who keep on trying in spite the fact that their situation seems hopeless. Deep in their hearts, they believe that one day, they will achieve what they desire most in life.
             I am still the same person before and after I read the play. That's because like Estragon and Vladimir, I feel that sometimes it is pointless to go against the problems brought about by living. There are only a few websites dedicated to Samuel Becket and one of these is the Becket International Foundation found in http://www.


Essays Related to Samuel Beckett - Waiting for Godot

1. Waiting for Godot - Samuel Beckett

Samuel Beckett, author of Waiting for Godot, explores chance and the human behavior when faced with the questioning of their existence. ... The basic argument that Samuel Beckett is trying to make in the play is that chance forms the basis of existence, therefore it determines human life. ... They continue to wait and since he doesn't show they agree to, "come back tomorrow," (Beckett 6). ... Each day the characters are, "waiting for Godot to come," (Beckett 6), and in order to pass time, they engage in pointless activities. ... Beckett shows that in the motif of waiti...

  • Word Count: 899
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

2. The Meaning Behind Waiting for Godot

To quote the British critic Kenneth Tynan, "Beckett's Waiting for Godot is a dramatic vacuum...It has no plot, no climax, no denouement; no beginning, no middle, and no end." Through his play, Samuel Beckett takes us on a literary journey of extremely thought-provoking nature. ... In their wait, they meet Pozzo and his slave Lucky and also a messenger boy who claims he comes from Godot who in the end does not even turn up. ... It is almost as if Beckett is castigating these ordinary mortals for their blind faith with a banal existence and a fruitless wait. ... The play is as Samuel Becke...

  • Word Count: 1022
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Grade Level: High School

3. Comparison of naturalism and realism

Comparison of Waiting for Godot and Cherry Orchard (realistic and a naturalistic play) Naturalism is designed to have a theatre mirror life, a play in which is an example of naturalism is The Cherry Orchid written by Anton Chekhov. ... A play in which contains this style of twentieth century theatre is Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. Samuel Beckett suffered from depression for most of his life which can be seen in Waiting for Godot where it is a struggle to get through life for Vladimir and Estragon. ... Waiting for Godot and The Cherry Orchard are going to be compared with one another...

  • Word Count: 287
  • Approx Pages: 1
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

4. Waiting for Godot

The setting of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot is much like Jean-Paul Sartre's portrait of an existential hell in the play No Exit, in that in both, torture is not physical pain, but the monotony and meaninglessness of waiting for nothing. In Waiting For Godot, Vladimir and Estragon repeatedly make desperate attempts to entertain themselves while they wait for the mysterious and elusive Godot, who is their potential source of salvation from purgatory. ... In Waiting For Godot, when Beckett creates a purgatory in which a god, Godot, that the characters perpetually wait for never...

  • Word Count: 1426
  • Approx Pages: 6
  • Grade Level: High School

5. Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot In 1954 Samuel Beckett released "Waiting For Godot" on French theatregoers, the reaction was mixed, some people believed it to be a great work, others that it was the most boring play on earth. ... "Waiting For Godot" is one of the first plays to be considered "Theatre of the Absurd". ... Each minute spent waiting brings death one-step closer to the characters and makes the arrival of Godot less likely. ... There are a number of different theories about "waiting for Godot" and what the writer was trying to say with this play. ... To counter this one source that I read said...

  • Word Count: 1089
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: High School

6. Apollonian and Dionysian Aspects to Literature

In the writers Friedrich Nietzsche and Samuel Beckett pieces have adopted a notion of rationality and irrationality through their characters. Using Friedrich Nietzsche's influential drives from the Apollonian and Dionysian dichotomy ideals in comparison to Samuel Beckett's themes in his play Waiting for Godot will exhibit the important balance between these two Deities and exactly what it is they represent in narrative as well as the primordial balance in human behavior.  In Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, the premise of the play consist of two main static characters V...

  • Word Count: 2933
  • Approx Pages: 12

7. About Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot qualifies as one of Samuel Beckett's most famous works. ... Waiting for Godot incorporates many of the themes and ideas that Beckett had previously discussed in his other writings. ... Waiting for Godot is part of the Theatre of the Absurd. ... An example of this can be found in the play Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett. ... In the end they decide it is safer to wait until Godot arrives. ...

  • Word Count: 4272
  • Approx Pages: 17
  • Grade Level: High School

8. Bad Faith in Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett's play, "Waiting for Godot,"" consists of two main characters in a barren landscape; only a single tree can be seen. ... In "Waiting for Godot"," Estragon and Vladimir are victims of "bad faith " in which the pair places the responsibility of each individual's free will by waiting for Godot's arrival. ... The pair's resolution to move is not strong enough and is overcome with the option of being stagnant and wait for Godot. ... Not only do Estragon and Vladimir wait for Godot, but also make sure that their task of waiting is placed with faith. ... Vladimi...

  • Word Count: 836
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

9. Analyzing the Characters of Godot

Waiting for Godot certainly qualifies as one of Samuel Beckett's most famous works. Originally written in French in 1948, Beckett himself translated the play into English soon after. ... Waiting for Godot incorporates many themes including human suffering and waiting for something that will never come. ... Another duo of characters in Waiting for Godot is Pozzo and Lucky. ... Waiting for Godot relies on absurd characters and dialogue with subtle tragedy to give it such wide appeal. ...

  • Word Count: 673
  • Approx Pages: 3
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question